patient-controlled analgesia

pa·tient-con·trolled an·al·ges·i·a (PCA),

a method for control of pain based on use of a pump for the constant intravenous or, less frequently, epidural infusion of a dilute narcotic solution that includes a mechanism for the self-administration at predetermined intervals of a predetermined amount of the narcotic solution if the infusion fails to relieve pain.

patient-controlled analgesia (PCA)

a drug-delivery system that dispenses a preset intravascular dose of a narcotic analgesic when the patient pushes a switch on an electric cord. The device consists of a computerized pump with a chamber containing the drug. The patient administers a dose of narcotic intravenously when the need for pain relief arises. A lockout interval automatically inactivates the system if a patient tries to increase the amount of narcotic within a preset period.

pa·tient-con·trolled an·al·ge·si·a

(PCA) (pā'shĕnt kŏn-trōld' an'ăl-jē'zē-ă)

A method for control of pain based on use of a pump for the constant intravenous or, less frequently, epidural infusion of a diluted narcotic solution that includes a mechanism for the self-administration at predetermined intervals of the narcotic solution should the infusion fail to relieve pain.

patient-controlled analgesia

A method of pain control in which the patient cooperates. An intravenous drip is set up and the patient has a small control unit with a button which, when pressed, inserts a small dose of a drug such as morphine, into the infusion fluid. Overdosage cannot occur. A disadvantage is the need to urinate at frequent intervals.

Traditional pain management for TKRs include a computerized pump called the patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with or without an epidural which can lead to nausea, vomiting, urinary retention, low blood pressure, constipation and itching.

It covers delivery, assessment and monitoring, the pharmacology of opioids and local anesthetics, nonopioids and adjuvant analgesic agents, systemic routes of opioid administration, patient-controlled analgesia, epidural and intrathecal analgesia, other regional and local analgesia, nonpharmacological therapies, acute neuropathic and persistent postacute pain and its treatment, nonsurgical acute pain, more complex patients like older and opioid-tolerant patients, and opioid analgesia after discharge from a hospital (a new chapter).

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